The woman sitting at the table gave him a level inscrutable look. There was an ageless look about her, as though she had been sculpted from marble to look middle aged but the sculptor had forgotten to add the little lines and imperfections which a human accumulated over the years. Her features were strange also, as though races which seldom came into contact, or perhaps no longer existed had been blended.

"Well I suppose you are my guest," she said after a moment, her voice rich and sibilant, putting a strange weight on the word guest. She flicked her eyes sideways to Yuki who had hung her assault rifle over the arms of what looked to be a statue of Venus in gold shot marble, the patrol sling around the statues neck. She had also replaced her soiled gloves with a fresh pair. She hurried across to the table, pausing to scoop up a chalice chased with gemstones before pulling out a hankerchief and wiping the inside clean. She set the cup down before January and then reached into her satchel to retrieve a bottle of Poland Spring water. She twisted off the plastic cap, poured half the volume into the cup and then recapped it and put the bottle back in the satchel.

"I will get to the point," the woman began.

"Something has been stolen, several things actually and I want what is mine returned." It might have been January's imagination, but it seemed that a thin whisp of smoke curled from the woman's nostril when she spoke, dissipating instantly into the still air of the cavern.